I'll eat up all your crackers and your licorice

100 Words about Baseball

Why I Love Baseball

There is no clock
90 feet between bases is genius
There are secret signs
Hanging curveballs are sexy
Numbers are magic: 755, 56, 7, 61, 1.12
Tinker to Evers to Chance
Ivy at Wrigley
The Green Monster
The suicide squeeze
Cracker Jack
Walt Whitman liked it
Jackie Robinson and Pee-Wee Reese
It just feels American
The seventh-inning stretch
Superstition
Guys in tight pants
Bull Durham
Centerfield
There’s no crying in baseball
Cooperstown
A great play at the plate
Chatter
Pepper
High socks
Tradition
Spring training
Keeping score
The rubber game
The infield fly rule
162 chances

Become a Fan

Travel - WDW

Tilt-shift photography is awesome. I don't know quite how it works to take life-size scenes and make them look as if they're the world's most detailed miniatures--it just does. I just came across a terrific example of tilt-shift video. In some places you can tell it's live action because of people's movement (long shots work better), but in many places you'll find yourself thinking, "That can't be real."

Maybe I'm just excited by this because I'll be there in 29 days, in the flesh--and in actual size.

Tomorrow, on Mother's Day, we leave on a vacation to Walt Disney World that represents a lot of firsts. Our first official stay as Disney Vacation Club members. Joe's first vacation from his new job. When we planned this trip, we were really trying to fit it in between some other work events of mine (which later were rescheduled, naturally). But now that it's upon us, I'm delighted with how the scheduling has worked out. We're leaving on Sunday - this means that on Friday I just had to worry about wrapping things up at work. I didn't have to rush myself through knowing that I had to get home to finish packing, zip over for the traditional pre-vacation pedicure, etc. So Friday ended up being much calmer than I've ever experienced a last-day-of-work-before-vacation day being. That left me (and us) with a full day to wrap up whatever we needed to. We ran errands, finished up the laundry, finished packing at a leisurely pace. And we're returning home on Saturday evening at about 7:30. That gives us Sunday to recover. This couldn't have worked out better if I'd planned it myself. Except that I did plan it myself.

Needless to say, we're all excited. On the way to school earlier this week, Alex made a giddy little sound and said "Oh Mommy, I'm so excited! Four days until Disney!" I asked him what he was most excited about and he immeditaely responded, "The place with the fountains where I get to push the elevator button." Now, keep in mind that the child always gets to push the elevator button. I'm so fully trained on this matter that it isn't unusual for me to get in an elevator and then wait, forgetting that I am "allowed" to push the button. But what was this place he was so excited about? I asked a few questions to try to identify the spot and then he said something telling and (stifling the urge to giggle) I asked "Kiddo, do you mean the parking garage at the airport?"

"Yes!" came the resounding and enthusiastic response. All this effort and expense and the kid's favorite thing is a parking garage.

He then moved on, saying that the night before we left hewas going to say he's too excited to sleep. Of course, this is an inside joke with us - several years ago there was a commercial with two little kids, unable to sleep because they're so excited about their trip the next day to Walt Disney World. When the mom tells them it's bedtime, the little boy says....well, I'll let you see for yourselves...

So that's us. Except that, while I am excited, I am definitely going to sleep! This is another first! I can't remember the last time we went on vacation and I got more than 2 hours of sleep the night before. Sometimes I don't get any sleep given the early morning flights and my packing work. But getting about 5 hours on vacation eve - that's a vacation in and of itself.

Apparently I'm only concerned with the portions of our trip that involved food. On with the report...

Jiko, Swahili for "the cooking place" is located at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. The atmosphere is very relaxed despite the fact that it is one a handful of truly upscale restaurants in terms of menu, attention to detail, dress code, etc.Jiko's menu can best be described as New African Fusion -- a lot of different tastes incorporated into some modern dishes. All four of us went to dinner (Joe, my mother-in-law, Alex and me), but Alex fell asleep on the way there and slept in his stroller through the entire 2-hour meal.

After this course, we were served some wonderful bread -- very grainy, with sesame seeds and a distinct fennel flavor. With the bread came tandoori butter.

The appetizers all looked wonderful, and I was tempted by the Lemon-Cumin Marinated Ahi Tuna, but in the end I can't pass up a delicious sounding soup, so I had the Roasted Brentwood Corn Soup with spinach chiffanade, roasted corn kernels and sagh dhal cottage cheese. Everyone else had the same thing. The presentation of this soup is both refined and comforting. The server placed a square bowl in front of each of us. Each bowl contained the spinach, roasted corn, and cheese. Then from a ceramic carafe he poured the soup into each bowl. And OMG, it was divine. I think the corn bisque at California Grill was better ("No, I mentioned the bisque.") but this was still a wonderful soup.

Now, you might be thinking, "macaroni and cheese??" Let me assure you that this was like nothing you'd get out of a box. The cheeses were very creamy and it had just the right amount of flavor and was really a great compliment to the beef, which was excellent. Joe said his ribs were excellent and fall-off-the-bone tender. My MIL said the scallops were the best she'd ever had.

I should add that this restaurant has the largest South African wine selection in North America. I counted 68 wines, with 35 offered by the glass. I had the Rudera Syrah (Deep, intense ruby with violet rim. Whiffs of spice - hints of leafy
forest floor on the nose. Gentle and soft entry on to the palate gives
way to rich, ripe, concentrated berry fruit flavours. Elegant and
aproachable but doesn't dominate. Lingering aftertaste.) I'm not much of a wine drinker, but this wine was superb. Joe had beer Windhoek Lager, a beer from Namibia.

For dessert, we chose the following:

Pistachio Creme Brulee - with layered chocolate bottom (MIL)

And here's where I run into a problem. I didn't get a copy of the dessert menu, and in checking the versions of the menu I can find online, I see that what I had must be a newer dish as it's not on the menu. But it was a tart granny smith apple sorbet paired with a buttermilk ice cream (which was also tart, as if it had lemon in it), served over a bed of cinnamon-dusted julienne apples. Joe had a glass of port. I might have the name of it at home, but I do recall it was a tawny.

As we ordered dessert, Alex began to stir, so we ordered a grilled cheese to go. He ended up sleeping until we got in the car, then devoured the grilled cheese like it was the best one he'd ever had.

So now California Grill has a very, very close runner up for the coveted spot of Tara's Favorite WDW Restaurant.

Okay, so the WDW trip report is starting off slowly. So far, all I've done is one dining report. I don't intend to report on every meal in such detail. There are a few that deserve this level of detail, however.

On Tuesday night (26 September), my mother-in-law watched Alex so that Joe and I could
have dinner by ourselves. We took the monorail from the Grand Floridian
to the Contemporary Resort for our 8:00 reservation. (Okay, okay, I have to mention that I wore a swishy black skirt, a low cut black top and my new leopard-print high heel slingbacks.) I love this
restaurant -- it's very lively and the view is something else. And the
food is positively divine.Course 1: Cheese Selections

You
can choose either any three or all five. We chose all five. The cheeses
are served with sourdough baguette and fruit paste (cranberry and
apricot).

Nancy and Tom's Hudson Valley CamembertSheeps
and cows milk are used to produce this creamy, smooth, and mild
Camembert, which was named Best of Class at the World Cheese
Championships in 2003. If you have always disliked camembert, this
cheese will change your mind.

Mezzo SeccoVella Dairy
in California produces this cows' milk aged Monterey Jack. The cheese
ages in half the time of their other well-known Sonoma Dry Jack,
denoting the name Mezzo Secco, which means “half-dry.” This
peppered-rind cheese is nutty with a slightly sharp finish.

San Joaquin Gold CheddarFiscallini
Farmstead is the producer of this traditional English-style cheddar.
Sixteen months of aging help develop this wonderful cheese. Nutty and
creamy, with a developed tang make this cheddar as fine as any.

Sweet CloverBingham
Hill Cheese Company in Fort Collins, Colorado produces this wonderful
sheeps’ milk cheese. Gently pasteurized, this cheese is flipped several
times daily while the curds are forming to enhance its texture.
Slightly salty and nutty with hints of sage and mountain grass.

Cypress Grove Farms Humboldt FogCypress
Grove Farms uses a central layer of ash in this aged goat cheese. Once
cut, it resembles the early morning fog that covers the farm daily. A
semi-soft and creamy texture.

*Our
server was very considerate about the timing of the courses and asked
if we'd be staying at our table to view the 9:00 fireworks show or if
we would be going out onto the observation deck. Since we planned to go
outside, she made sure our flatbread course came early enough so that
we could enjoy it, then go out for the fireworks, then return just in
time for our next course to be served.